Christmas at Ashford Academy
by Xascul
Summary: Milly is planning a big party and Lelouch is going to be the main attraction. What does she have planned for the school now? Little bit of LelouchxCC
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Yay! I finally have a Christmas Code Geass fic!

Christmas Time in Ashford Academy.

Although Japan had been conquered by the Holy Britannian Empire, that did not mean that the holidays were not celebrated. It was one of several days Britannia held in high regard. The first was Empire Day, the day when Ricardo von Britannia succeeded Queen Elizabeth III as leader of Britannia and was formerly declared Britannia an empire. The second was New Year's festival, and third was Christmas. Christmas was the one day of the year where it didn't matter if one was an eleven or Britannian citizen. It also seemed one of the few days where Britannians seemed to treat the native Japanese more or less as equals, something that they didn't do often.

Everywhere throughout Tokyo, whether it be the Britannian Settlement or the the Japanese slums, the divided city was transformed into a more lively and holiday friendly place. Shops everywhere were stringing up multi-colored lights, putting up ornaments and Christmas trees in an effort to boost commerce and sales in the various districts.

Just outside the Britannian Settlement, the prestigious Ashford Academy was no different. Student Council President and granddaughter of the dean, Milly Ashford had the student council working together to help decorate the school. However, one could make the argument that she was the mistress of the school working her slaves to death.

"C'mon guys, step it up! The school is not going to decorate itself you know!" Milly shouted to the other members as they walked around with their arms full carrying decorations.

"Alright Madam President, we get the point." Shirley called back.

"Sheesh, I just want to get this over with, the faster we get this place decorated, the less Madam President over there is going to work us like dogs." Rivalz said as he set up a ladder to hang some more lights.

Even Suzaku and Kallen were being worked to death. Suzaku however didn't seem to mind. It was a walk in the breeze when compared to piloting the Lancelot and serving in the military part time. The one he did mind was having Milly breathing down his neck half the time. At least when he was piloting, he didn't have Lloyd or Cecile yelling at him every five seconds.

Meanwhile Lelouch was busy helping to decorate the Council's clubhouse with Nunnally and Sayoko's help, which made his work a bit easier.

Well, not really. Nunnally couldn't help that much with decorating, and Lelouch was against her handling any breakable ornaments. Sayoko however was more than happy to take some time off her cleaning duties to help Lelouch out.

"Wait a sec, who's taking care of Nunnally then." Lelouch almost panicked.

"Do not worry Master Lelouch, CC is taking care of her as we speak. Now come on, help me set up this Christmas tree."

Lelouch sighed and helped the maid move the nine-foot tall Christmas tree into position.

_At least she is watched and being taken care of. Better than no one watching her at all._ The former Prince thought to himself as he got out a cardboard box of lights and tinsel and started stringing them all over the tree.

So while Lelouch was busy decorating, CC and Nunnally were busy making Christmas cards and decorations out of paper. Nunnally was a bit saddened that she couldn't help Lelouch decorate, but was still happy that CC was here to keep her company.

CC always thought that Lelouch was being too overprotective of his little sister. She noted how he always treated her like a fragile work of art than an actual human being. It was logical yes, but sometimes unwanted. CC had taken upon herself to take the little brunette out of the house every now and then feeling that some fresh air would do her some good.

"CC? What do you like to do for Christmas? Aren't you going back home to your family?" Nunnally asked the green-haired witch as she folded another paper crane to hang on the tree.

CC was silent but said, "I don't have any family. So I guess I don't really do anything for Christmas."

"Wah! But that's so sad! Well then I guess you are spending Christmas with us then! You're already like an older sister-in-law to me anyways!" Nunnally said to her. CC flushed a little when she heard the words 'sister-in-law.' It's true that when Lelouch was out with Black Knight business, he would leave Sayoko in charge of taking care of Nunnally, but Sayoko was still a servant, and CC felt that Nunnally needed another girl her age to play with. So CC had in a sense become an older sister for Nunnally, something that Lelouch was not able to do. She also treated her not like a disabled little girl, but as a regular human being.

CC continued with making her Christmas cards and looked up at the clock. It was already a little past four in the afternoon. That meant that she had gone more than four hours without a slice of pizza.

* * *

As usual, Milly was very excited about this time of the year. Then again, she gets excited for just about anything, once having the whole school search for a the cat Arthur, with a kiss from one of the Student Council members as the prize. But Christmas was another thing within itself for Milly. This year she had planned a Winter Ball at the end of year as well as a smaller, more intimate gift exchange among the student council. It was also the perfect time to give Shirley a little nudge to get her closer to Lelouch. She admitted that she liked Lelouch somewhat, but felt if she could make Shirley jealous, she could get those two together.

The Ball she had planned was going to be held at the school's gymnasium and it would be the perfect opportunity for her to dance with Lelouch and hopefully that might get Shirley jealous enough so that she would take it up a notch with Lelouch.

Milly laughed as she though how the orange-haired girl would respond to this. She had noticed that Shirley was filling out quite nicely, not to sound like a pervert or anything, and she had always been jealous and flushed whenever another girl got close to Lelouch. Milly remembered how angry Shirley got at Lelouch when she thought he was going out with Kallen, or at least seeing her.

Now that the blonde thought about it, Kallen and Lelouch have been away from school lately, and they have been absent on the same days for a while. Milly smiled and evil smile, _perhaps there is more to this than I thought._

She was so busy thinking about her little scheme, she didn't see Rivalz come up to her, "Um, Madam President? Milly? Um.....do you know who you are going with to the dance?"

"Oh, Rivalz! Oh um.....not yet really why?" She replied.

"Just wondering......" he said and walked back off to his work. He had admired Milly for a while, and he had a chance to ask her to the dance, and perhaps give her a present to show his feelings to her.

And where was Lelouch in all this? Getting the short end of the stick again as usual, and it didn't matter if he was Zero in disguise. The Black Knights could fight Britannian soldiers on the battlefield, but they could not stop Milly from forcing girls on him.

* * *

Please read and review!

A/N: Special thanks to Kiki Hayashi for helping me proofread this!


	2. Chapter 2

Shopping Time

It wasn't until late that night when CC saw Lelouch stumble inside his room.

After checking up on Nunnally and helping her get to bed, Lelouch was ready to just lay down and fall asleep.

Of course, it was never that simple. First, CC stole his bed, so he couldn't lay down on that, and to add to his frustration, it smelled heavily of cheese as he walked in to his room. Lelouch's nose twitched at the smell. He took a few seconds to glance around his room, and he wasn't surprised to see that the smell was coming from the half or dozen boxes of pizza lying scattered across the floor.

CC was lying on his bed as usual with her green hair sprawled in all directions, in one hand held a slice of pizza which she dangled over its cardboard box. It would have been almost sexually appealing if CC's face wasn't as expressionless as a rock.

Lelouch became even more appalled when he noticed that she was eating pizza on his bed. If he wasn't so angry and tired, he would have tried to yank the bedsheets from underneath her. Instead he opted for a more controlled response.

"You really should stop eating so much pizza, it's not healthy for you." Lelouch said to the witch.

"I don't get fat so I can eat to my heart's content. CC said and her mouth formed a sly smile. Why? Are you actually concerned about me?"

"N-No! It's just that......." Lelouch tried to say that he didn't like the smell, but CC responded by taking another bite of her pizza.

"Whatever......" the witch said, and with that, a defeated Lelouch grabbed a spare blanket from his closet and moved over to the couch on the other side of his room. He then climbed in to his bed and tried to fall asleep with the smell of pizza lingering in the air still.

_This is exasperating, _he thought as his eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next day Lelouch and the others finally had some free time and there was no urgent business to attend to with the Black Knights. Today they were all planning to go to the mall to buy their Christmas gifts for the exchange coming up and to just hang out and enjoy themselves after almost a week of non-stop decorating.

As the monorail zipped across the Britannian settlement and past the imposing government building, Lelouch couldn't help but wonder what his two half-sisters were doing. Deep down, he had to admit that he did miss being with his older siblings and especially with his mother. That was a time where they got to lead carefree lives and succession of the Britannian Throne was the last thing on their minds.

The group got off the monorail and walked to the mall together as one group. Milly looked over at Shirley and smirked as she noticed that the orange-haired girl's face more flushed then usual.

It had been a while since Lelouch was able to enjoy something like this. It had been a while since he and Suzaku hung out as friends even as classmates. When the group reached the shopping mall, Milly suggested that the group split into two groups, with girls in one group and boys in the other.

"I'm cool with that." Rivalz said.

"Same." Said Nina.

So as the girls headed off in one direction the boys headed in the opposite direction. Eventually the three of them also split up to find the right gifts for their friends. All seemed well for Lelouch and his friends that day and it seemed that if he could go today without CC suddenly popping up somewhere, he would treat her pizza tonight.

Rivalz wanted to buy a special gift for Milly, and Suzaku of course wanted to buy something special for his princess. Though their reasons were slightly different. Pretty soon after some 'guy bonding,' the three of them split up as well and all walked to purchase their gifts. Lelouch knew he needed to buy a present for his little sister and Sayoko, but he also knew that he needed to buy presents for Rivalz, Milly, and Shirley. As for Kallen and CC, well.......that he wasn't quite sure. If his budget allowed him, and maybe a few extra chess matches, then perhaps so.

Lelouch walked out of the shop with his gifts in hand and was barely a few feet out the door when he felt something run into him.

He looked up to see who he was and he gazed into a pair of yellow eyes that he recognized automatically as CC's eyes. He cursed silently to himself and he would have to spend another day catering to the gray witch's every whim. After he got over his initial distaste he looked over behind CC. She was dragging along another girl with long pink hair who wore a hat and tinted glasses.

"Euphie!" Lelouch shouted out without thinking then lowered his voice and pulled the two girls to a more secluded area.

"What are you do doing here?!" Lelouch whispered through clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry about that Lelouch."

Princess Euphemia li Britannia had somehow snuck out of the palace and avoided the guards. She claimed that she needed some fresh air and that her sister had commented that she should get out more as working at her desk job has made her stomach a little flabby.

"I bumped into this girl here......"

"Cecelia" CC corrected her, just name that she thought right off the top of her head.

"And I asked if she knew you Lelouch, so......"

Lelouch shook his head in frustration but reluctantly allowed them to follow him until he met up with the others. And conveniently for Euphemia, Suzaku was with them today. Lelouch suspected that was the real reason why the pink haired princess wanted to see him.

Lelouch heard his cell phone ring and picked it up.

"Hello?"

It was Suzaku. "Hey Lelouch! Are you done with your Christmas shopping yet? Everyone's waiting for you at the pizza parlor for you."

CC ears perked as she heard the word 'pizza' and Euphie felt her heart jump into her throat as she heard his voice. She looked over at CC who silently nodded behind Lelouch's back. And before Lelouch could do anything else, Euphie and CC started dragging Lelouch across the mall to the pizza parlor. Euphie let CC steer since she seemed to know where the pizza parlor was.

Lelouch's pride and ego once again took a hit, as he got a lot of stares and giggles from bystanders.

When the three finally arrived at the pizza parlor, the others looked up at this rather strange but funny sight.

"Lelouch, just who are these people?" Milly asked.

"Suzaku! I finally get to see you again!" Euphie cried and swooped down and hugged Suzaku nearly knocking him out of his chair.

Lelouch noticed how awkward the situation was becoming and he also noticed CC's eyes. For a split second he gulped and suggested to the group, "Hey, you guys haven't ate lunch yet right? Why don't we get some pizza?"

That seemed to have worked. Everyone started discussing which toppings they wanted, what drinks they wanted and how they should pay. This was just the distraction Lelouch needed. After getting all the orders he lined up to pay for the food at the same time, think about what he was going to say to everyone.

When Lelouch walked back to the table, he found the others all huddled around the Princess Euphemia and CC. Lelouch could only imagine what they were talking about and ran over.

Lelouch felt his heart sank. Euphie here was going to blow his cover. However, to Lelouch's relieve when he actually walked closer to the table, they didn't seem to mind her at all, and other random people did not suddenly run up to her to ask questions. So others, it simply looked like a group of friends clamoring over the newest gossip. And to top it all, they hid Euphie from view of any bodyguards that might be looking for her.

When the pizza and drinks finally arrived, CC doved right into her own pizza that Lelouch ordered for her, earning several suspicious glances from the other girls. Then again, all of them knew instantly that there was only one girl who could eat a whole pizza like that and that was CC. Luckily for Lelouch, Suzaku didn't seem to recognize her at all, and in fact, Lelouch was grateful now that Euphie came along. Suzaku seemed to be focused entirely on the princess that he probably wouldn't have recognized CC even without her disguise.

"So when did you two first meet Euphie?" Shirley asked the pink haired girl.

"Um......about two months ago......."

"What got you so interested in him? Like selecting him to be your knight?" Milly asked.

"Well.......I...."

Suzaku couldn't stand this anymore. "She chose me as her knight because she felt I was the most qualified."

"Y-yes. I enjoy having Suzaku by my side."

For the rest of their shopping trip, Euphie and CC accompanied the girls on shopping for gifts and other stuff. Euphie had to admit that it was fun and having Suzaku there with her was a definite bonus. He was more to her than her knight, and people like Milly could easily tell that she liked him as a person, perhaps even loved him. As for Suzaku, Milly was a little more in the dark as she couldn't tell what Suzaku was thinking.

As the day came to a close, and Euphie had to leave, Suzaku grabbed her hand and took her aside from the group.

"Don't worry about us, I'll catch up okay?" Suzaku called.

"What's this about?" the pink-haired princess asked as he escorted her to a more private place in a nearby park. The sun had already set and the lights were just starting to come on of the buildings.

"Um.....Euphie? Um, if it's alright with you.....will you......go to the dance this Friday with me?" Suzaku stammered out. "I'm sure Milly told you about it and......I wanted to see if you can come."

Euphie was delighted that she was getting this chance. "Of course I will Suzaku!"

That night, Euphie and Suzaku decided to take a nice stroll around town until late, when Suzaku finally escorted her back to the government building. As the young man waved goodbye to his princess, he felt his heart thump harder than usual as Euphiemia's long, pink hair disappeared behind the doors.

So after all that has happened, Lelouch was surprised that it didn't turn out as bad as he thought it was going to. CC and Euphie did not blow his cover, and Suzaku was preoccupied so that he didn't recognize the green-haired witch. He had bought all his gifts including one for CC, and he enjoyed himself playing some of the arcade games with Rivalz, and chatting away with Suzaku about school and Milly's crazy antics.

"Welcome home big brother and CC! How was shopping?" Nunnally asked Lelouch as he and CC walked into the clubhouse.

Lelouch didn't answer right away. He walked over to the Christmas tree and set down his bags before stretching a little bit before he turned back to face his sister. CC already left upstairs presumably to take a shower.

"It was fine."

* * *

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	3. Chapter 3

The Dance and the Gift Exchange

Lelouch took a deep breath and stepped inside the gym.

"Eeeeeeeeeeee!!!"

The scream was so high pitched that Lelouch thought he would go deaf.

Not even three steps in and he heard high-pitched fangirl screams from somewhere he didn't know. Lelouch was dressed in a black nobleman's outfit that his little sister (with a little help from Sayoko) persuaded him to wear. He didn't usually wear fancy clothes like this not since when he and Nunnally still lived in the palace, nor did he enjoy it particularly.

He reached up to adjust the collar of his ruffle again. Heh, the only other time he wore a ruffle was when he wore his Zero costume which can get uncomfortable rather quickly.

He took a moment to look around the gym and was surprised at how different it looked. There were four Christmas trees, one on each corner, several fake ice sculptures, and long tables on either side with all sorts of food and drink. Not to mention there were several yards of Christmas lights and tinsel running all over the room and on the ceiling as well. Lelouch could hardly believe that he helped do all this.

The raven-haired boy sighed and strode forward pushing Nunnally's wheelchair. He decided to bring Nunnally along after she almost begged him to allow her to come. Even Lelouch melted when he saw the longing look on his precious sister's face and had no choice but to give in to her demand, er wish.

"This is so wonderful Lelouch! Where are your friends? I want to say hi to them!"

"Don't worry Nunnally, they'll all be here."

Lelouch smiled nervously and kept walking forward. He took a few glances around at the many students gathered here. Now that he saw the looks on the girls' faces, he was glad that he brought Nunnally along. As long as he kept pushing her wheelchair in front of him, he can rest assured that he won't be tackled in the front by some girl clamoring to dance with him.

Of course, that didn't stop Milly and her eagle eyes to notice the two of them. She was wearing a more classic noble woman's dress of shocking pink complete with ruff, her hair tied neatly into an elaborate bun on the back of her head and wore gold bracelets on her wrists. She moved stealthily through the crowd behind Lelouch.

"Hey Lelouch? Is CC going to be here tonight as well?" Nunnally asked him.

"I'm not sure, but I think she will."

Milly decided to take this opportunity to come up to him and start flirting with him and she made sure that Shirley was watching.

"Hey there Lelouch, I was wondering where you were!" The blonde said wrapping an arm around the boy and hugging him close.

"Is that Milly? Lelouch was kind enough to bring me here!"

"Hello there Nunnally. Lelouch and I are going to dance now, Rivalz is here to look after you now okay?"

"But I...."

Hey c'mon Lelouch, let's dance! You already missed the first song!" And with that the blonde pulled the raven-haired boy into the middle of the dance floor. And to stop him from protesting about Nunnally, which Milly predicted, she said, "And don't worry about Nunnally right now. She's with Shirley and the others right now."

So while Rivalz reluctantly pushed Nunnally's wheelchair away, Milly pulled the protesting Lelouch onto the dance floor.

_Well at least she's safe. _Lelouch thought to himself. He almost tripped over long coat as they crossed the dance floor. The orchestra (paid for personally by the Ashford family) struck up a slow, mournful tune; and Lelouch was careful not to catch any of his friends' eyes. He was right. Rivalz and Kallen were both sniggering at him.

Milly suddenly stopped, seized his hands, placed one around her waist and held the other tightly in hers, and started waltzing. As embarrassing it seemed, it could have been worse. Lelouch tried to follow along, (Milly was steering of course) and he kept his eyes fixed on hers instead trying to not think about what others were thinking of him now. He smiled at Milly who was enjoying every moment of dancing even if Lelouch was not.

Shirley looked over at the pair and had on a frustrated face. It seemed to spoil the dress she was wearing, a low-cut silver-gray satin one with a large bow at the back.

"Damn that Madam President!" She hissed. "I wanted to be the first to dance with Lelouch!"

"Did you say something Shirley?" said a weakened voice.

It was Kallen. She was wearing a red dress similar in style to Shirley's albeit less flashy and just as revealing. She had on her usual tired expression, a facade she kept when at school.

"Oh nothing, Kallen, I'm just noticing how well Lelouch is dancing with Milly over there," Shirley lied with a fake giggle.

"Whatever." the red head replied and looked away.

Lelouch heard the final note from the violins and sighed in relief. The dancers applauded politely and the former prince let go of Milly's hands almost immediately. He bowed slightly to try and compensate for his perceived rudeness.

"Why don't we sit down now? I'm a bit tired."

"Oh....but...this next song sounds really good!" Milly said as the orchestra started playing a new song, this time much faster with an added electric guitar.

"No thanks, I don't like it," Lelouch lied and left. He moved toward the side of the gym, not tired, but not in the mood to be swept off his feet by Milly. He was a little surprised to see Rivalz asking Milly to dance, and by the surprised look on his face, Lelouch deducted that Milly agreed. He smiled knowing that Rivalz wanted this all along, and it was better Rivalz then him, since he couldn't stand how Milly would drag and manipulate herself into his almost non-existent romance life.

Lelouch was not outside the line of fire however, and was soon pulled rather roughly by none other than Shirley.

"W-what, Shirley, what a-are you doing?"

"We're dancing together, what does it look like?" Shirley said but with a slight forceful tone.

Lelouch sighed as once again, another one of his 'potential' lovers dragged him to dance. This time, he felt himself tiring out more quickly since Shirley was dancing more vigorously with the song.

About halfway into the song, everyone paused suddenly. Lelouch looked around and noticed that his friend Suzaku had arrived with his dance partner and 'date,' Princess Euphemia. The two were dressed in very fancy clothing being royalty, but they didn't have the typical purple air that surrounded the nobility. Suzaku was dressed in his white uniform with gold trimmings and fastenings while Euphie wore an elegant white dress.

"Hey everyone! It's Princess Euphemia and Suzaku!" cried a voice.

Naturally almost all the dancers started rushing up to the pair to ask questions. Suzaku quickly held out his hands to shield the princess.

Almost immediately, the crowd stopped in its tracks. "Please everyone, calm down." Suzaku said with an air of authority. "Euphemia here is not a princess for tonight, merely a guest and my dance partner. However, if you have any questions for either myself or her, you may send them to the palace and we'll answer them later."

Euphie suddenly piped up and Suzaku turned around.

"Hmm? Why did you stop? I really liked the music!" Euphie said shyly, and the orchestra began playing the waltz again. Soon everyone went back to dancing and Suzaku escorted her through the crowd.

Perfect. This gave Lelouch the break he was looking for. Lelouch managed to break away from Shirley to say hi to Suzaku and Euphie. Shirley however looked even more angry.

"Hey Lelouch!" Suzaku waved at him as he approached the two. Euphie also nodded politely.

"Hey there Suzaku, Euphie, I'm glad you two could make it tonight."

"Yes, we are fortunate enough that Viceroy Cornelia and Earl Asplund allowed us to come here tonight. The Earl seemed overjoyed when he heard that I will be taking a member of the royal family to a dance. How are you Lelouch? Are you enjoying the dance?"

"I wish, Milly and Shirley have been dragging me around ever since I got here."

"Oh is Nunnally here as well? Can I say hi to her?" Euphie almost cried.

"Oh sure, she's somewhere over there," Lelouch pointed in the general direction.

So after greeting his friends and getting some punch, Suzaku and Euphie walked on the dance floor and started dancing together. They drew several stares and onlookers as the two of them danced gracefully as though they had rehearsed this several times. The way Euphie twirled and spun was smooth and flawless, but then again, she was royalty and had to keep up appearances. Lelouch was relieved that the next song the orchestra started playing was a slow waltz. At least if he was asked to dance again, his feet wouldn't hurt as much.

Lelouch took after Suzaku and Euphie and decided to grab something to eat as well. After all that dancing, his stomach was telling him that he needed food.

"Can you pass me some punch and a slice of pizza?" said a smooth female voice.

"Sure." Lelouch said without looking and reached over to grab a cup and pizza to hand to the girl being the gentleman that he was.

When he actually looked at the girl, he was very taken aback. She was very pretty, had bright green eyes, delicate facial features and long, jet black hair. His eyes moved next to her dress which was an odd combination of both revealing and regal.

"Is there something on my face?" the girl asked.

Lelouch blushed slightly and turned away. "N-no! I'm sorry!"

The two leaned against the wall and ate in silence watching the other dancers. Euphie and Suzaku had stopped dancing and Euphie dragged Suzaku to find Nunnally, who was being lifted up by Shirley and the others in an attempt to get to dance as well. Before Lelouch could run over to help her, the black haired girl asked him a question.

"Hmm. Would you......like to dance with me?"

Grunt. Well at least she wasn't Milly or Shirley, hopefully she'll take it easy with him. "Sure. What is your name miss....?"

"Celine."

"Very well then Miss Celine." and with that, Lelouch found himself waltzing on the dance floor with the young lady. He learned some dancing when he still lived in the Imperial Palace in Pendragon but he only did it when his mother persuaded him to. He was glad that the girl also knew how to dance and therefore he wouldn't look like an idiot in front of everyone.

"Hey, who's that girl with Lulu?" said Shirley as she looked over at the pair.

"I don't know, I've never seen her around before. Does she even go to our school?" said Rivalz.

"She is really pretty. Who do you think she is?" said Kallen half-heartedly.

The more Lelouch danced, the more he found himself blushing slightly with every minute. For several seconds, the two said nothing to each other. Lelouch decided to break the silence first.

"Uh...um...you dance very well."

"Thanks, I learned how to dance a while back."

Lelouch smiled at the girl and continued dancing until the end of the song. For some reason, he found himself enjoying his girl and dancing with her. There was something about this girl that made him forget about his troubles and the world around him when they spun around slowly. He found himself mesmerized by the girl's movements. They were just as graceful as Euphie's and she wasn't as controlling as Milly or Shirley was.

At last the song ended, and the two bowed to each other.

"May I ask where are you from? I enjoyed dancing with you." Lelouch asked.

"Thanks. I live close by. I just decided to come here tonight because I heard they had ordered pizza from pizza hut."

_Pizza. _Lelouch slapped himself mentally. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. It was CC under that disguise and he couldn't believe how he did not see through it. He also couldn't believe he danced with her of all people and almost started liking the gray witch!

He excused himself and walked outside telling CC that he needed some fresh air and would like to be alone for a while.

CC could only stare at him as he left.

* * *

Not terribly long afterwards, students began filing out of the gym as it was almost 9:00 at night. The dance had gone on for three hours and Lelouch was happy that the dance was over and that he and his friends could do the gift exchange.

It was small and intimate, something that Lelouch actually liked. There was himself, Nunnally, CC, Kallen, Milly, Rivalz, Suzaku, Shirley, Nina, and Euphie. After helping with cleaning up, the group all headed over the clubhouse chatting merrily and exchanging stories about the dance.

Although it was before Christmas, the presents were packing the base of the tree. Sayoko had already prepared drinks and the room for them earlier that evening.

Everyone gathered in the main room to start exchanging gifts. Suzaku insisted, or was it the other way around, that Euphie also come with him to the Christmas party although technically she did not receive an invitation. There was a white elephant gift exchange, where everyone received a gift, then there was the distribution of presents by everyone else.

While the presents were being distributed and everyone was laughing away at the presents they received, Nunnally could sense someone was missing. Among all the voices she heard, she noticed one particular voice was not chatting along in the crowd.

CC sat in a little corner staring at the Christmas tree and the pile of presents that was diminishing. She looked at the presents with all its colorful wrapping paper and ribbons and simply stared at them. There was a particular reason why she didn't like Christmas. In fact of all the days of the year, it was one which she disliked the most. It was not the holiday itself that she disliked but the gifts. Everyone who was normal looked forward to a gift with their name on it under the tree, but not CC.

Several centuries ago, when CC was still a normal human being, she was given a geass power by a nun, the power 'to be loved.' At first she loved having others love her, what with growing up as a slave girl for her whole life. People from every nationality and background, where rich or poor, young and old, all clamored up to love the green-haired girl. In the next six years, her body had matured to a very beautiful young woman. She was not overly curvy like Milly or Shirley, but more refined and delicate. Her limbs were strong and slender, and she allowed her hair to grow out. All this was fine and dandy but as CC's geass became permanent, she grew tired of all the gifts and proposals. After coming back to the nun, and CC full filled the contract, she had stopped aging physically and became the immortal witch she was now called.

To this day, CC didn't want another present if she could help it. To her, it didn't mean anything. To her, presents and gifts only reminded her of a distant and lonely past. Because of her immortality, she felt ever more alone and was forced to watch as people aged, time for her was a standstill.

She watched from her little corner, Milly handing presents to her friends, Rivalz handing Milly her gift and blushing furiously when he did. She noticed Shirley also blushed as she gave Lelouch his gift. She noticed all the little facial movements, the way the cheeks and muscles moved the mouth and eyes. It was also times like these that CC understood what it meant to be lonely. Sure Lelouch and Nunnally were political hostages of Britannia, but at least they had each other. CC pulled her knees closer to her head and the slightest tear leaked from one golden eye.

At last every present was sorted out and handed to its receivers. Well, almost every one. There was one last gift that was lying under the tree.

The gift was for CC from Lelouch. At first he was reluctant to buy her any gift at all, but when Nunnally asked him if he was going to get his 'girlfriend' a present as well, and Lelouch sputtered that he didn't know, Nunnally practically begged him to get her a gift as well.

"Alright Nunnally, I'll get her a gift as well. You need not worry." He had reassured her.

As Lelouch reached down to pick up the present, he couldn't help but feel something for the green-haired girl. There was something about CC that puzzled him. Then again, whenever he saw her, several conflicting emotions arose. On one hand he was grateful for CC whom gave him his geass power. If he had never met her, he wouldn't have been able to advance his plan to destroy Britannia as quickly. He was also thankful that CC was taking care of his sister Nunnally when Sayoko could not. If he had business at school or with the Black Knights, he could always count on CC to take care of her. On the other hand, she annoyed and tested his patience to the absolute limit. She ate too much pizza and his room reeked of cheese. She was always ordering him to do stuff for her, and made his life more difficult than it already was.

However, he allowed her to stay with him nonetheless and she was one of the few people whom he trusted completely. The downside with what he was planning to do, combined with geass, made him feel more lonely than not. At least she was there when he needed her. At least she was there to comfort him when he needed it. He felt his cheeks flush as he thought about the feelings that ran through him when he danced with her.

He sighed and picked up the gift from underneath the tree. While everyone else was chatting away, sipping cider and sharing what gifts they got on the other side of the room, Lelouch walked over to CC and looked away slightly before handing the gray witch his gift.

"Hmm? What is this?"

"It's your Christmas gift." Lelouch said flatly.

CC took the package carefully and reluctantly.

"But I don't........I didn't do anything to deserve this."

"I don't know what happened to you in the past, but Christmas is about giving to others in need. Besides, Nunnally said that.......that you should never be alone on Christmas." Lelouch said.

Normally CC would have made a smart comment to counter Lelouch. She might have scoffed and said that Lelouch was one to talk as he was rebelling against his own father, but not this time. Instead she merely said his name, quietly, and for the first time, with a hint of longing.

"Lelouch......" and with out warning, CC grabbed him in a tight hug and kissed him on the lips.

"Hmph!" Lelouch said but did not break away. Not that he could if he wanted too as CC could easily overpower him despite the fact he was a guy.

The others looked at CC and Lelouch kissing but did not say anything. Sayoko whispered the scene to Nunnally and a great big smile appeared on her face.

After what seemed like an hour, CC broke off the kiss and Lelouch managed to say, "Merry Christmas CC."

"Merry Christmas Lelouch." said CC and the two shared another warm embrace with each other.

_End_

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A/N: Sorry I took so late to finish writing this story! Anyways Happy New Years!

Please read and review!


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